Holidays don’t have to stop at the babymoon, or after your new baby arrives. Jump on board the new parenthood trend and make the most of your maternity leave with a maternymoon.
I personally ran out of time to go on a babymoon, so I went on a maternymoon instead. Just five months into my maternity leave, we packed our bags and somewhat bravely took the 24-hour flight to Paris for our first family holiday, travelling throughout France.
As keen travellers, it wasn’t hard for us to make the decision to go on a maternymoon, I had the time off work and we wanted to spend as much time as possible making memories as a new family – why not do it in France!
At five months old our daughter was at a great age for a road trip holiday. A lot of the time she slept in the car, while she got tons of entertainment being in cafes and new surroundings which was definitely more exciting (for all of us!) than being at home in our normal environment.
Not to mention, it was a great way to meet the locals, so many people along the way would come up to us to say Bonjour to our cute daughter 🙂
Bonjour!
As a mum who has been through the maternymoon experience, below are some of my top tips to planning a holiday with the new little person in your life.
1. Choose the right destination for your family:
It really depends on the style of holiday you’re after. For us, we were quite happy with a driving holiday overseas for our first maternymoon, however we’ve decided on a relaxing, tropical holiday closer to home for our second one. Yep, you heard right, a second one!
2. Money Matters:
If you’re thinking, ‘The last thing I can afford is a holiday, I just had a baby!’, don’t despair! Family travel is very affordable these days, with kids staying free at many hotels and resorts and most airlines not charging extra for children under two as long as they sit on your lap. Packages are also a huge money saver, combine your hotel and flight for added discount and extra spending money.
3. Finding family-friendly accommodation:
If it’s space that you’re after or if you need a kitchen with a microwave in the room to heat bottles and a washing machine, go for an apartment. Another top tip is to filter your online search results according to your preferences, with options including accommodation with free parking, hotel restaurant, free breakfast and more.
4. Timing matters:
If possible, choose travel times to match sleep times. Whether you’re driving or flying to your maternymoon destination, try and time it with your baby’s sleep pattern.
5. Flying with babies:
Feeding on the ascent and descent helps little ears from blocking. Plenty of airlines also offer child friendly services, including Etihad which has onboard nannies for short-haul flights, and airlines like Emirates and Singapore Airlines offer babies wipes, bibs, diapers and bottles available on request.
6. Trip length:
Look to go away for at least a week, rather than a weekend away. This will give you all time to really settle in and relax.
Sold yet? Good, let’s start planning your maternymoon!
Want the tropical holiday without the overseas flight? Port Douglas is the place to go. You and your family will feel a million miles away with plenty of baby friendly resorts and apartments available.
Our neighbour is only a few hours’ away and offers many choices for a maternymoon, whether you’re after a mountain getaway in Queenstown or a city escape in Auckland.
What a perfect destination, not too far from home – less than five hours’ from the east coast of Australia. Hello palm trees and sunshine!
You can’t go past the Gold Coast when considering a maternymoon, it offers amazing beaches, great restaurants and plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained.
